Jeffrey Boucher’s disappearance leaves family trying to stay hopeful

Five days after the Whitby teacher vanished on a morning run, police have expanded the search zone.

A family photo tweeted by Bettina Boucher 24 hours after her father, Jeffrey Boucher, 52, went missing during his morning run in Whitby. Bettina tweeted: ""Miss my dad. Its been 24 hours. Thanks to everyone for their support"

They believe it’s unlikely Boucher could have survived outdoors this long, if he was injured while running on trails near his home. The alternative explanation — that he took off on his own accord — makes little sense to the people who know him best, but at this point it’s the best hope they’ve got.

Those who know Boucher say he is a calm, easygoing man who keeps to himself. An avid runner and cyclist, he loves nature and the outdoors. He is known for going on daily morning runs, rain or shine, and in finer weather cycling all the way to Bowmanville High School, where he teaches geography and business and coaches the cross-country running and ski teams.

Married for 21 years, Boucher and wife Kirsten have travelled the world together on bicycles, often with their two girls in tow. They’ve been to Germany and Switzerland, Greece and Turkey, Thailand and Peru — more than 30 countries, according to their daughter, 17-year-old Bettina.

When Bettina and older sister Katja were small, Jeffrey and Kirsten would cart them across Europe in small bike trailers. Since they’re both teachers, they would travel for five weeks in July and August.

Though he is a bit of an introvert, Bettina says her dad has a good sense of humour. “He’ll always lighten up any situation,” she said. “He’s never really been angry or sad. Just calm.”

Her friends think he’s a nice guy. “In bad situations, like where they think their dad would be really mad, they’re so surprised that he’s so easygoing and nice, like a low temper.”

On winter weekends, Bettina and her dad teach ski lessons together at Blue Mountain. They drive from Whitby on Saturday mornings, leaving before 6 a.m., and spend the night at the family chalet.

Bettina said there was nothing unusual about her father’s behaviour last weekend during their Blue Mountain trip, in the days before he disappeared.

Boucher usually leaves for his morning run around 6 a.m. and returns within an hour, according to his daughter. Bettina woke up for school around 7:30 a.m. Monday, as usual. She said she was in the kitchen eating breakfast when her mother came in and asked, “Have you seen Dad?”

“No,” Bettina said.

His car is still here, her mother said, and he didn’t say goodbye.

Jeffrey had left his car, keys and wallet behind. His navy blue running jacket was gone, Bettina said.

Kirsten called his school to see if he was there. He wasn’t. Then they called the police.

A massive ground and air search was launched, focusing on the area between the family home on Gilchrist Court and the Heber Down Conservation Area.

In the days after Jeffrey disappeared, police and reporters discovered Jeffrey’s family had also been concerned about his whereabouts the night before he disappeared, when he went out for an unusually long run.

That Sunday, Bettina sent out a Twitter message around 10:30 p.m.: “My dad went running 3 hours ago and he isnt home yet. Anyone seen a 50 year old man lying on a sidewalk.”

Bettina went out to look for him after writing the Twitter message and said she found him jogging back up the street toward home. “He said the weather was nice,” she said, and that’s why he stayed out late.

The daughter later deleted the tweet, saying it wasn’t relevant to his disappearance and “people were asking lots of questions.”

“He was completely normal” when he got home that night, the daughter said, and he didn’t go back out again. She was up late and would have noticed.

As news of Jeffrey’s disappearance spread, a group of running friends organized a search party. Jeffrey and Kirsten are members of the Hash House Harriers, a local chapter of an international running group that meets up for occasional social jogs, with a meal and drinks after. “Hash” refers to the food.

“He’s a very even-keeled, level-headed, nice person,” said Megan Allan, a fellow hasher who was part of the organized search party.

“We’re all very, very worried about him and very worried about his family.”

The group dismissed speculation about Jeffrey’s nickname, “Prince Valium,” which other members said came from a bad bowl haircut in his youth that made him look like the comic book character Prince Valiant. Everyone in the group has a silly nickname, Allan said, and there is nothing nefarious about his.

Jeffrey and Kirsten, who met through a running group, were known to host hash runs at their home, with their daughters often participating as well.

“We would meet at their house, start the run, come back and barbecue in their backyard,” Allan said.

Speaking on the phone from her home in Waterloo, Jeffrey’s mother said the idea that her son may have left his family, for whatever unknown reason, doesn’t make sense to her, but she has to believe that something like that happened. The alternative is too difficult to contemplate.

Her husband, Bruce, feeling overwhelmed with the number of phone calls from reporters, tried to get Mary to hang up the phone.

“Ask the lady,” Bruce shouted, “is this going to bring our son back?”

But Mary, in the middle of listing off her son’s finer qualities, couldn’t be stopped.“He’s the best father in the world,” she continued. “He’s run six marathons.”

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